A small error that costs real customers
A pin that sits two doors down, on the back of the building, or across a highway sends delivery drivers and first-time customers to the wrong place. It also makes your profile look sloppy. The fix takes two minutes if you manage the profile, and it doesn’t touch your address, so there is little risk.
Why pins drift
Google turns your typed address into a point on the map. That works well on a normal street grid and less well in a few situations: brand-new construction, plazas where many units share one street number, rural routes, and addresses with no number at all. Google’s own guidance for those cases is to place the pin by hand. If Google couldn’t find your address when you set up the profile, the pin may be wherever its best guess landed.
Getting the spot right
Zoom in further than you think you need. Put the pin on the entrance customers use. For a store with a parking lot in front, that is the door, not the middle of the lot. For a unit in a strip center, it is your unit. For a business inside a larger building, it is the spot where customers would find you.
Satellite view helps. The suggest-an-edit flow on Google Search specifically tells you to zoom in and switch to satellite view so you can see the buildings before dragging the marker.
Side effects to expect
The Street View photo attached to your profile is chosen partly from the pin. Move the pin and a different image may appear, sometimes better, sometimes not. If Google’s street imagery for your block is years old, you can report it, or add your own imagery such as Photo Spheres from Street View Studio. Google doesn’t promise when reported imagery will be reviewed.
Moving the pin also does not fix driving directions that route people the wrong way. Directions are reported separately in Google Maps.
When you aren’t the owner
Maybe you’re a manager without access, or a competitor’s listing is sitting on your building. Anyone can propose a location change with Suggest an edit. Google reviews all suggested edits, so results may take some time to update, and it doesn’t say how long.
If it doesn't work
- No Adjust option in the Maps app: Google's help describes Adjust on the web flow. Make the change from a computer.
- Pin is right but driving directions are wrong: that is a separate Maps problem. Report wrong directions through Google Maps.
- You don't manage the profile: use Suggest an edit, pick Location and drag the marker in satellite view.
- The address itself is wrong: correct the address first, then fine-tune the pin.
Questions owners ask
Why did Google put my pin in the wrong place?
Google places the pin from the address it matched. New buildings, addresses without a street number, rural roads and large complexes often confuse that match. Google's help suggests pinning your location on the map when your address has no street number or can't be found.
Will moving the pin change my Street View photo?
It can. Google says editing your pin can change which Street View image is associated with your business. If the imagery itself is out of date, Google has a form to report it but doesn't commit to a timeline.
Can I move the pin of a business I don't own?
You can suggest it. On Google Search, choose Suggest an edit, select Location, zoom in, switch to satellite view and drag the marker. Google reviews every suggestion before results change.
My shop is inside a mall. Where should the pin go?
On your store's spot inside the building. Google also lets businesses inside another business ask, through the Help contact page, for that relationship to be shown on the profile.
Sources
- Drop a pin for your businesses (support.google.com)
- Edit your business address and map pin (support.google.com)
- Suggest edits to a place in search results (support.google.com)
Checked 13 Nov 2026. When the platform changes its process we update this page and log it in What changed.